My fiance and I purchased a 1995 Ford Ranger XLT in 2002 for 1200.00 down and 360.00 a month. Not a bad price not bad payments. I was working as a contractor for a print shop and he worked FT at a well known business, we were doing alright as far as the income was concerned, no need to panic, no struggling involved. The first couple of payments were easy, no problem. Well, then a few months went by and I had no work, contractor here, and my paycheck was small, not enough to make a full payment so being the honest person that I am, I called plenty ahead of the game to let Ugly Duckling finance Department know that my payment was going to be smaller than the total due to shortness in the paycheck.
That's where the trouble started... The first lady I talked to was real nicce about it and said it wouldn't be a problem but to get the remaining amount in as soon as possible. Sure, I can do that. Now mind you this was a Monday evening. On Tuesday morning I got a nasty mouthed woman on the phone telling me that if I don't get my "ass" in gear and get my payment in pronto then Ugly Duckling was going to reposess my truck.
When I asked what the problem was I was informed that in order for me to keep my truck, I had to make consistant payments for 6 months. I then informed her that I had just spoke with "Jane" the evening before and was told it was fine that I just needed to be sure to get the remaining (here's the kicker) $28.00 in to them before my next payment was due. She said, they didn't have anyone by that name working in their office or for their company. I told my fiance when he got home from work and he was furious that this happened. He went to the dealership where we purchased the truck and demanded to speak with this "Barb" (or what the hell ever these bitches names are, pardon the radical opinion) and he wasn't leaving until he did speak with her. Well, that was cleared up, thanks to his siter loaning us the $28.00 to fix the situation.
Now some months later, just over a year, my fiance and our youngest son were involved in a car accident on the I60. Now not only do I have to keep up the payments on this damn truck but now I have to figure out how I am suppose to remain working since I used the truck for my job... Contract work, need vehicle to travel to and from delivery at the shop. Ok, so to add salt to the wound, $4000.00 worth of damamge to my truck, not to mention a $500.00 deductible and no income, children to feed and clothe, summer ending and they go back to school, and other bills piling up as well. Borrowed money against my paycheck... Lots of money, how would you feel about working for free to pay back a loan? I hated it let me tell you, my fiance at this time was no longer employed due to a serious surgery that he needed a few months prior to all of this.
So, now with the water being shut off, oh then the power, oh and the gas too, no vehicle, took out a loan on my fiances life insurance to get the truck out of the shop, ok, seek job... NOW! And all the while I am trying to decide where to divide the little bit of money we are getting from borrowing and begging from friends and relatives just to get by with. 50 here 20 there or so just wasn't cutting. Threats of reposession, ok, well I can't pay for it so yes, please come get it if you really want it that bad, that's all I could say to them. Then it was, " We can work with you as long as you work with us.
Please tel us what we can do to make this easier on you... Blah blah blah..." Well, I told them, you can stop calling me everyday threatening to take my truck... Or you can come get the damn thing and be done with it and leave me alone. Oh here we go with the bullshit lines again. Let me tell you I was sooooo willing to give up that truck. Ok, that was in 2002.
February we put in for a $1600.00 deferment, accepted due to circumstances beyond our control. Ok, fresh start right, now I can't get behind for at least 6 months. I went to work on getting the payments in and my fiance paid the rest of the bills, then he got laid off... OH SHIT! Yup, you guessed it, we had to move to a cheaper place, not a problem. That was in April, then the phone calls started because I wasn't getting the payments in on time... One day past due was too late I guess. They called me at work, at home, called my friends... in California and Washington no less, my family... in Texas... My dad called me to tell me they called him, he's in Texas, so I called Drive Time (the name had just changed by this time). I told them I wsa still in Arizona, and that they should know this and if my family or friends got anymore phone calls I would take it to a lawyer to find out what I could do for suit on harrassment charges. The phone calls stopped altogether.
Now here it is October and I am soooooo tired of the calls by now at work and home that I told them I moved and had no phone, got the shit for that too, I HAVE TO, ABSOLUTLEY MUST HAVE A DIRECT CONTACT NUMBER. Bullshit! I told them too bad they could call me once a week at work and no more. Yeah right. The calls persisted, my wages weren't enough to make the monthly payments and I, again, told them to come get the truck.
Stopped allowing the calls altogether, made no more attempts to be nice since I had been treated like a criminal from day one...*uck them!!! I stopped making the payments, I have babies to feed and a roof to keep over their heads and mine. This truck was not worth this much turmoil, heartache, emotional stress, or worth my relationship with my fiance, we argued horribly because of the financial situation, I wanted to make the truck payments and he told me to stop a long time ago and I just kept trying to make the deal work. When I finally said hell with it, they had already made plans to come get my truck months before.
In February of I took my truck to Texas, for my birthday, brought it back, drove it the whole time here, there and everywhere you could think, took the harrassing phone calls, told them where to stick this truck that I had paid over $6000.00 on already whre the sun doesn't shine.
On Fer. 18th I got a phone call from a Maricopa County Sheriff. He informed me that if I didn't return the truck by 6 pm, there would be a warrant issued for my arrest on a stolen vehicle. Well, I am from Washington state, I have only been here for three years, very not sure of the laws here, and there was no way I was going to jail over some damn truck. So, I called my fiance, at work... Told him what had happened... He works for a dealership... And he went into the finance office and asked if there was any truth to this, he then called me back and I had to then call Maricopa Sheriffs Dept.
Well, there was never a vehicle missing report or stolen vehicle report for my truck, never a repo on it, and the "officer" that called me didn't exist. Come to find out it was the (and I use all terms loosely due to the fact that I was lied to and so were the police) "director" of Drive Time that called supposedly and was now up on officer impersonation. So, to get to the bottom of all of this, I told the Sheriff that I talked to what was going on, she then wanted the phone number he gave me to contact him when I delivered the truck, she then called, told him he could spend lots of "time" for impersonating and officer of the law, and called me back to give me the rest of the info I needed to pursue further.
As of today's date, they have reposessed my truck (thank God!) and I have since changed my phone number with remark behind it, in the event I ever get a harrassing call from them again... Due to them searching for my number that is currently unlisted and nonpublished, there will be a huge law suit for that too. I will never send anybody there to purchase a vehicle, and I bad mouth them every chance I get.
Jennifer
Apache Junction, Arizona
U.S.A.
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